Christina H. Paxson, president of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, announced her intent to retire at the end of the 2026–2027 academic year.
Dr. Paxson became Brown’s nineteenth president on July 1, 2012. Over the past 14 years, Brown has had numerous successful fundraising endeavors, resulting in more than 165 endowed professorships, a new policy waiving tuition for families making $125,000 or less, and more than $2 billion in physical campus upgrades. As of fiscal year 2025, the Ivy League institution’s endowment is worth roughly $8 billion in market value. Under Dr. Paxon’s leadership, Brown has also launched several new academic programs, grew its annual sponsored research expenditures, and established numerous external partnerships with local health systems and the City of Providence.
“I look forward to Brown’s future. Universities thrive on the excitement of new ideas and the healthy challenge of reinvention that only a new president can bring,” said Dr. Paxson. “As we navigate a transformative era for higher education in America, Brown’s model — open, collaborative, curiosity-driven and student-centered — is more essential than ever. It is the right time for a new Brown president who will have the distinct privilege and pleasure of leading a university that is exceptionally well positioned for impact in the years ahead.”
Dr. Paxson is a graduate of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University. Before coming to Brown, Dr. Paxson spent 26 years on the faculty at Princeton University, where she ultimately served as dean of the Princeton School of International and Public Affairs.